On August 15th, we celebrate the 2024 National Ecology Day. This year's theme is to accelerate the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development.
Thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, full of vitality. Green development is accelerating, the green map continues to expand, and the beautiful new picture of China depicted by billions of people is slowly unfolding.
Protecting green and increasing blue, making the ecological picture of our motherland more beautiful
In the distance, there are lush green mountains and lush vegetation, while nearby grasslands are covered with photovoltaic panels and a few dragonflies are dancing lightly... It's hard to imagine that this park like place was once a "waste mountain" that had been filled with household waste in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province for 24 years.
The Maiyuan domestic waste landfill located here used to be an open landfill operation, with exposed garbage, breeding of mosquitoes and flies, and the release of odors. Local resident Yin Youcong lives in a community two kilometers away from the landfill site. Previously, the higher the temperature, the stronger the odor, "he said.
In 2021, the Maiyuan domestic waste landfill site completed its final closure. The local government has fully covered the garbage dump with soil and film, invested in building a solid waste treatment circular economy industrial park, and constructed a waste incineration power generation project. The garbage "slag mountain" that once troubled residents continues to generate economic and environmental benefits.
A good ecological environment is the most universal welfare for people's livelihoods.  
With unremitting efforts from various regions and departments, the "stinky ditches" have turned into "clear rivers", and our home is becoming more and more beautiful——
Polish the blue sky. In the first half of this year, the proportion of days with good air quality nationwide was 82.8%, an increase of 1.4 percentage points year-on-year; The proportion of days with average severe and above pollution decreased by 1.1 percentage points year-on-year.
Guarding the clear waters. In the first half of this year, the proportion of sections with excellent surface water quality (Class I to III) in China was 88.8%, an increase of 1.0 percentage point year-on-year; The proportion of inferior Class V sections is 0.8%, a year-on-year decrease of 0.2 percentage points.
Protecting our homeland together. In 2023, China will complete afforestation and grassland improvement of 125 million mu, control desertification and rocky desertification of 28.57 million mu, and achieve 40 years of continuous "double growth" in forest area and forest stock.
High level protection is an important support for high-quality development, and ecological priority, green and low-carbon high-quality development can only be achieved through high-level protection.
Xiaoting District, Yichang City, Hubei Province, located on the banks of the Yangtze River, is a well-known chemical industry hub. Like many places along the river, it has also faced the dilemma of "chemical industry surrounding the river".
In January 2016, a symposium on promoting the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt was held in Chongqing.   The concept of "jointly safeguarding and not engaging in large-scale development" runs through the entire process.
In recent years, Xiaoting District has promoted the "transformation and relocation" of chemical enterprises, vigorously restoring the ecological environment. At the same time, advantageous industries such as modern chemical new materials, new energy and high-end equipment manufacturing, and synthetic biology have developed rapidly, and the economic "green content" and "gold content" continue to increase.
Nowadays, the water quality of the main stream of the Yangtze River is improving, and finless porpoises are chasing and playing. The mother river is gradually recovering its vitality.
In order to achieve the beauty of blue skies, clear waters, mountains, and rivers, ecological protection, restoration, and pollution prevention are inseparable and interact with each other, requiring coordinated deployment and collaborative efforts.
On July 26, at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, China's Yellow (Bohai) Sea Migratory Bird Habitat (Phase II) successfully passed the review, and five nominated sites including the Yellow River Estuary in Dongying, Shandong, were expanded to be included in the The World Heritage List.
The Shandong Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve is located in Dongying, the mouth of the Yellow River, and is known as the "international airport" for birds. This used to be a vast expanse of saline alkali land and bare land, but now it has become a large wetland with abundant aquatic plants and rich biodiversity.
In recent years, the protected area has implemented ecological protection and restoration, cleared the Spartina alterniflora, implemented the policy of returning farmland to wetlands and retiring to beaches, restored native plants such as salt alkali plants and seagrass beds, and restored large areas of wetlands, becoming the largest natural vegetation area of newly developed wetlands along the coast of China.
With the continuous improvement of the ecological environment, the protected area has welcomed many "new residents", and the number of bird species has reached 373, including 26 national first-class key protected bird species.
Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. In the new era and new journey, China is creating a rare miracle of rapid economic development and long-term social stability, while constantly painting a better ecological picture.
Deepen reform and reshape the institutional system of ecological civilization
Early morning, Shichuan River National Wetland Park in Fuping, Shaanxi. The gurgling water, swaying lotus flowers, and swimming fish schools... This leisurely and pleasant scenery has attracted many pedestrians to take out their phones to take photos and record.
More than 10 years ago, this place was still a 'barren ditch'. Due to the construction of upstream reservoirs and increased water intake in irrigation areas, the water volume in the Fuping section of the Ishikawa River has sharply decreased, and there is also a lot of garbage in the river channel. Chen Wenping, a 64 year old resident of Fuping County, recalled, "I only saw the stones, not the rivers. When it rains a little, it becomes a stinky ditch.
Since 2014, the local area has carried out systematic management of the Ishikawa River, building new embankments and regulating the river channel. To solve the problem of water shortage, Fuping County has established an ecological base flow compensation mechanism for the Ishikawa River, allowing flowing water from surrounding reservoirs and irrigation areas to flow into the Ishikawa River. Nowadays, the Riverside Landscape Park has become a happy park for leisure and entertainment for ordinary people.
In order to return to the constant blue sky, eliminate "scattered and polluting" enterprises, implement clean heating in northern regions, promote the "revolution of rail" in freight transportation, and improve the emission standards of motor vehicle oil... we are playing a "combination punch" of industrial, energy, and transportation structural transformation.
In order to protect the clear waters and long streams, a comprehensive system of river and lake chiefs has been established, and many rivers and lakes have undergone a transformation from "no one manages" to "someone manages", from "unable to manage" to "well managed", becoming happy rivers and lakes that benefit the people.
In order to retain the chirping of birds and the fragrance of flowers, vigorously promote the classification of household waste, enhance the centralized collection and treatment capacity of urban and rural household waste, reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides, effectively control soil environmental risks, and achieve the goal of "zero import" of solid waste as scheduled.
Since the new era, the institutional system of ecological civilization has been systematically reshaped. Ecological civilization has been included in the Party Constitution and Constitution, and the Environmental Protection Law and more than 30 ecological environment laws and regulations have been formulated and revised. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council have issued and implemented the "Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of Ecological Civilization" and the "Overall Plan for Ecological Civilization System Reform", and dozens of specific reform plans have been successively introduced. The legal system for ecological environment protection with Chinese characteristics and the institutional system of ecological civilization with the nature of "four beams and eight pillars" have been basically formed.
To protect the green mountains and clear waters, we must make the system a rigid constraint and an untouchable high-voltage line. Strictly use the system to manage power and officials, protect the blue and increase the green. Those who have power must have responsibility, those who have responsibility must take responsibility, and those who violate responsibility must be held accountable.
In response to issues such as weak environmental awareness, inadequate performance, and lax enforcement in some areas, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has promoted the establishment of a central ecological environment protection inspection system, an evaluation and assessment system for ecological civilization construction goals, an audit of natural resource assets of leading cadres leaving office, and the implementation of a lifelong accountability system for ecological environment damage, gradually making ecological environment protection a hard constraint.
The typical ecological and environmental problems of Qilian Mountain ecological destruction, illegal and irregular construction of golf courses and villas in Changbai Mountain International Resort, and illegal land reclamation in some areas of Hainan have been solved one by one.
During the summer season, the Daxing'anling forest area in Inner Mongolia is lush with greenery and fresh air, making people feel relaxed and happy.
Forest farm worker Li Chengzhi has been busy receiving tourists coming and going these days. He has been working in the forest farm for over 20 years and once made a living by logging with his colleagues. With the complete cessation of commercial logging of natural forests in the forest area, the local tourism industry has begun to develop. This summer, the number of tourists has increased significantly compared to the past, and the average income of employees has increased by more than 8000 yuan, "said Li Chengzhi.
The forest area also develops understory industries such as black fungus cultivation, and the green mountains and clear waters have truly become mountains of gold and silver.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China's economic development and ecological environment protection have become more coordinated, and the space for green development has further expanded. While the ecological environment quality has significantly improved, the total economic output has jumped from 53.9 trillion yuan in 2012 to over 126 trillion yuan in 2023.
Accelerate transformation and build a beautiful China where humans and nature coexist harmoniously
In recent days, early maturing apples located at Shuangshan Pass in Tuanjie Street, Xishan District, Kunming City, Yunnan Province, have had a bountiful harvest, with red apples hanging from the branches.
You wouldn't have thought that a few years ago, this place was still a devastated abandoned mine, would you? "Yunnan girl Qi Li, as a" hometown recommendation officer "on the live streaming platform, walked in the orchard and told the audience the story of her hometown's former mines turning into" golden mountains ".
Qi Li's family is located in Leju Village, which is adjacent to the mine. Once, while years of phosphate mining brought economic benefits, it also turned this place into a barren "bald mountain" where landslides, flash floods, and collapse accidents occurred from time to time.
Mobilize local social capital to explore the ecological restoration model of "mine greening+modern apple demonstration park", build modern agricultural planting demonstration parks on abandoned mines, and at the same time create cultural and tourism projects such as Xinguo Bookstore and coffee bar. Carry out activities such as starry sky camping and mountain outdoor leisure expansion, cultivate and strengthen the new business model of "tourism+".
Chinese path to modernization is a kind of modernization in which man and nature coexist harmoniously.
On the land of China, the "wind" and "light" are infinitely good.
The photovoltaic panels undulate continuously with the mountain trend, and the grass under the photovoltaic panels gradually grows lush. The sheep leisurely stroll among them... Generating electricity on the panels and herding sheep under the panels are both photovoltaic bases and pastures. This 4 million kilowatt integrated wind and photovoltaic project located in Nileke County, Yili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, China, aims to promote green and low-carbon development through a "complementary model between agriculture and photovoltaics".
While realizing the development of the new energy industry, the installation of photovoltaic panels has reduced the impact of wind on vegetation, minimized water evaporation, and curbed the trend of grassland degradation and desertification, "said Liu Yong, manager of the Yili Operation and Inspection Center of Xinjiang Zhonglv Electric Technology Co., Ltd.
Relying on abundant wind and solar energy resources, Xinjiang's new energy development has accelerated in recent years. In the first half of this year, Xinjiang's newly added new energy grid connected installed capacity reached 14.08 million kilowatts.
The Third Plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed to focus on building a beautiful China, accelerate the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development, improve the ecological environment governance system, promote ecological priority, conservation and intensive, green and low-carbon development, and promote harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.
Targeting the goal of building a beautiful China and promoting green and low-carbon transformation and development——
At the national level, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council have issued the "Opinions on Accelerating the Comprehensive Green Transformation of Economic and Social Development", deploying the acceleration of the formation of a spatial pattern, industrial structure, production mode, and lifestyle that saves resources and protects the environment; The General Office of the State Council has issued the "Work Plan for Accelerating the Construction of a Dual Control System for Carbon Emissions", establishing a clear direction of encouraging the development of renewable energy and focusing on controlling the consumption of fossil fuels.
In the industry sector, a series of policy measures continue to be implemented: the "Special Action Plan for Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction in the Electrolytic Aluminum Industry" deploys key tasks such as vigorously promoting energy-saving and carbon reduction transformation, implementing non fossil energy substitution, and promoting coordinated green development of the industrial chain; The Special Action Plan for Green and Low Carbon Development of Data Centers focuses on accelerating the energy-saving and carbon reduction transformation of data centers, as well as updating energy consuming equipment.
Across the country, the pace of building a beautiful China is accelerating: in Qinghai, the provincial-level local regulation "Qinghai Province National Ecological Civilization Highland Construction Regulations" with "ecology as the guiding principle" will come into effect on August 1st; In Zhejiang, the "Implementation Plan for Pollution Control and Improvement in the Recycling Industry of Hangzhou's Renewable Resources" implemented on July 24th proposes to achieve full coverage of urban areas for household waste classification by the end of 2024; After becoming a true "city of thousands of parks", Beijing will add 15 leisure parks and urban forests, 50 pocket parks and small and micro green spaces this year.